New Houston service lets average car owners make money on people needing a ride

San Fransisco based car sharing company Lyft launch in Houston Friday.

Photo By Lyft/Craiglist

Users find a ride on a mobile app and pay with a credit card registered online.

Prepare to see see pink-mustachioed cars roaming around the city as San Francisco-based car sharing company Lyft launches in Houston on Friday.

Lyft is an app-based service that allows anyone to register as a driver and use their own car to make money by giving other people a ride. People needing a ride log in to choose the nearest car from an online database, then they can call the driver directly to request a pick up.

The company already operates in 20 cities across the county including Dallas.

It has also introduced new insurance policies for drivers after criticisms surfaced about people driving their own cars not being covered.

"From extensive background checks to our first-of-its-kind $1M liability, $1M uninsured motorists, $1M underinsured motorist and collision insurance, we are constantly working to update and develop our innovative safety gold-standard," the company said on its website.

Lyft is launching at Hughes Hanger on Washington Feb. 21 and is already accepting applications from potential drivers. The company claims drivers can make $800 every weekend.

Drivers undergo in-person screening and background checks but some recent reviews of the California service have been poor.

They say drivers have been unfriendly and lack the knowledge necessary to find people and take them directly to the places they want to go.